Haida's Date
by StarscreamPrime
Summary: Fenneko sets Haida up on a surprise blind date to help him to move on from Retsuko. But will Haida take to his date though?
1. Chapter 1

Haida's Date

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Haida screamed in both anger and horror. He and his vulpine friend Fenneko were sitting in the office break room, and Haida's outburst had caused the heads of the few other people currently in there to turn to stare at them.

"I set up an online dating profile for you," Fenneko answered in her usual calm manner as she stared at her phone screen, completely unfazed by Haida's outburst.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" Haida shouted again, becoming even angrier at Fenneko's complete lack of a reaction. "I thought _you_ said that online dating is stupid, just like singles parties!"

Fenneko still remained completely calm. "This is for your own good, Haida. Retsuko turned you down. You need to move on. You've placed her on this pedestal in your mind, and its not healthy. There are a lot more women in the world besides her, you know. Still obsessing over her isn't doing you any good. You're just making yourself miserable. So I think the best thing for you to do is to go on a date, get your mind off of Retsuko, and have a good time. Plus, I'm sick of babysitting you, and I want you to start dating someone so you can be someone else's problem for a change."

Haida was used to these little insults from Fenneko, so he wasn't that offended. Besides, he knew she only meant it in jest, and at the moment a different question was on his mind.

"How did you even set up a dating profile for me?" Haida asked out of both curiosity and concern. "What did you put on it about me?"

"Just some photos of you," Fenneko responded, "along with some basic information like your age, height, species, likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, personality, occupation, sexual preference, political views, financial status, beliefs, hopes for the future…"

"HOW CAN YOU KNOW ALL THAT STUFF ABOUT ME!?" Haida shouted, uncomfortable with all that information about him being put out there for anyone to see.

Fenneko grinned evilly. "I know many things about many people, Haida. Don't you know that by now?"

Haida shuddered. It was true. It was scary, the things Fenneko knew at times. He was glad she was on _HIS_ side.

"Also I used your credit card to pay for your account." Fenneko reached into her pocket and pulled out one of Haida's credit cards, holding it up for him to see.

Haida was shocked. "FENNEKO, HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THAT!" he shouted, quickly grabbing the card out of her hand.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to," the vixen responded plainly.

Haida groaned. He had no idea how she had gotten his credit card without him realizing it. He guessed he should start being more careful with his belongings.

Fenneko spoke again, and this time she actually looked up at him. "Look, Haida, you already have a match." Fenneko held up her phone for Haida to see the screen. On it was a dating site profile page. The photo was of a cute raccoon girl.

Fenneko continued. "Her name is Ryako. She's 25, lives right here in the city, she works at a restaurant, her dream is to be a professional baker, and she wants to get married someday to a kind, loving man. She's agreed to your request to meet tonight for dinner."

Haida was confused by the last thing Fenneko said. "I didn't request that!"

Fenneko looked back down at her phone. "I know. I asked her pretending to be you."

That was the last straw. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT, FENNEKO!" Haida screamed. How could she impersonate him for something like this? That was crossing a line!

"Well, I did," Fenneko said, "and now you have a date tonight. You're welcome."

Haida groaned.

"And Haida, remember, try to enjoy yourself," Fenneko added.

* * *

Haida arrived outside the restaurant he was meeting his 'date' at. It was called The Orange Lilly Brewpub.

"Darn it, Fenneko!" Haida said to himself. "Now I have to explain to this poor girl that it wasn't me she was actually talking to online, and this whole thing was just a big mistake. And she'll be sad, and I'll be embarrassed."

He couldn't believe what was happening. He didn't want to date any other woman. He was in love with Retsuko. She was the woman of his dreams. Even if she had rejected him once, that didn't mean she would forever. All he had to do was wait a while, and then ask her again sometime.

Then again, she might never say yes, he thought to himself. She might not ever feel the same way about me that I feel about her. She might get into a relationship with a guy, and it actually works out, and they get married and live happily ever after, and, while I would of course be happy for her, I'LL BE ALONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE…

Haida shook those thoughts from his head.

No! I can't give up hope! I have to keep on believing! Now lets just find this girl in here and give her the bad news and get this over with.

Haida walked inside the restaurant. It wasn't too crowded inside, but it was still busy. After glancing around for a few moments, he spotted the raccoon girl from the dating site. She was wearing a pink sweater, and a tan striped skirt. She was sitting at a booth by herself, playing on her phone to pass the time while she waited for him. He sighed and began walking over to her. She soon spotted him approaching her and smiled, giving him a small wave. Despite his feelings for Retsuko, Haida had to admit this girl was kinda cute.

"Hi!" she said as he walked up to where she was sitting.

"Hi," he responded, stopping in front of the booth. "I'm Haida."

"I'm Ryako," she said. "Nice to meet you."

"You also," he said. "Um… before this goes any further, you deserve to know the truth."

She frowned, looking up at him in confusion.

Here it goes, Haida thought to himself, and then continued. "The person you talked to on the dating site… that wasn't me. My friend set up a profile for me and arranged all this without me knowing until today. So, knowing that, if you don't want to do this anymore, I completely understand. I'm sorry you were deceived."

Ryako stared back up at him for several seconds blankly. Haida looked away from her gaze. He wished he were literally anywhere else right now. This was so embarrassing.

Then suddenly he heard the girl laughing. Haida looked at her in shock as she let out high-pitched giggles. This was not the reaction he had been expecting.

"Wow! That friend of yours must either really care about you, or just loves to mess with you," the raccoon girl said after she finished laughing.

Haida considered this, and then he chuckled himself. "I think it's a combination of the two, actually," he responded. It was honestly a good sum up of Fenneko.

Ryako chuckled again. "I appreciate you being honest with me. To tell the truth, my own sister kinda forced _me_ into trying this whole online dating thing."

"Really?" Haida was surprised that she had also been forced into this.

She nodded. "Yeah. My sister… She worries way too much about me, and she's worried that I'll never get a boyfriend. But I don't think these dating sites really work anyway."

Haida smiled. "Yeah. Me either," he agreed. "It's all just a scam to make money off of desperate suckers."

"Definitely!" she said with a nod. The two of them chuckled again.

Then Haida remembered the situation. "So… do you want to call this whole thing off?" he asked her.

Ryako thought for a moment. "Actually… Seeing as we're already here, and I got all dressed up and everything for this, I think it would be a shame if I did all that for nothing. So I'm okay to still have dinner with you if you are. What do you say?"

Haida thought for a second. She had a point, and this girl seemed really nice. It might be fun to make conversation with her while having dinner. There were definitely worse ways to spend an evening.

"Sure," he said with a smile and a shrug. He sat down in the other seat at the booth.

They ordered some food, and they chatted, getting to know each other. They asked questions about each other, shared stories, told jokes, expressed opinions and observations. Haida had no difficulty talking to his date, knowing that neither of them had originally wanted to be in this situation, and now they were both just trying to make the best of it and have a good time, and not worry about trying to impress the other.

"I'm not anything special," Haida responded to Ryako's question about him playing the guitar, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "It's mostly just a hobby I have. I don't play professionally or anything."

"Still, I think it's really cool that you can play the guitar," said Ryako. "I'd like to hear you play sometime."

"Thanks," Haida said, appreciating the compliment even though he knew he wasn't very good with the guitar. Now it was his turn to ask a question. "So you work at a restaurant?"

Ryako nodded. "Yes. I work at the Saffron Table Bistro. I'm a baker there."

"Do you like it?" Haida asked.

Ryako thought for a second. "Its okay. Well… not really. My manager is a jerk, the hours are long, the pay isn't as much as I'd like. My dream is to one day own my own bakery."

Haida smiled at her last sentence. "That sounds awesome!"

"Yeah. I'm saving up to do it. I'll finally be able to bake whatever I want, set my own hours, and I wont have to take orders from anyone."

"Heck yeah!" said Haida in encouragement. "What kind of things will you bake?"

"Everything!" said Ryako, making herself excited. "Breads, rolls, biscuits, pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, heck, maybe even pizza."

"Oh, man, you're making my mouth water!" said Haida, thinking about all the tasty food she was saying. "When you open, you have to let me know! I'll be your first customer!"

"Thanks!" Ryako said.

They continued talking for a while, until Ryako took notice of a clock on the wall of the restaurant out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh my gosh! It's going on eleven!" she shouted.

Haida looked around. Out the window it was totally night! It was still daylight when he had arrived at the restaurant. He couldn't believe it. They had been talking for hours! He had been having such a good time he hadn't noticed!

"Oh, crap! I have work tomorrow!" Haida said. He didn't want to show up to work totally tired in the morning.

"Me too!" said Ryako.

They waved over the waiter, and they both agreed to split the bill. After paying, they both walked outside. The cool night air hit them like a wall.

"Well, I had a fun time tonight," Ryako said to Haida with a smile.

"Yeah. Me too," he said. Then he asked, "Would you like to do this again sometime?" He definitely wanted to see Ryako again.

"Yeah. I would," she answered. "Want to exchange numbers?" She pulled out her phone from her purse.

Haida nodded and pulled out his phone from his pocket, and they gave each other their numbers.

"I'll text you later," Haida told her.

"Sure thing," she responded happily. "Well, see you soon."

"Yeah. Bye," Haida said with a wave.

"Bye," Ryako waved back.

They both walked off in their own separate directions.

As Haida walked home, he thought about the evening he'd had with Ryako. He had truly enjoyed spending time with the raccoon girl. She was a really nice, fun, and hopeful person. He was glad that this evening had ended with him making a new friend.

However, it felt like more than just friendship. He wasn't sure. It was almost like a little fluttering in his heart. It was true that Ryako was an attractive woman, and he did like her a lot, but did he… 'like her' like her?

Haida shook his head of the notion. After all, he was in love with Retsuko.

Haida stopped in his tracks as he suddenly realized something. He hadn't thought about Retsuko even once during the entire time he had spent with Ryako.

To be continued

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment on what you think. I want to know your honest opinions and input before I continue this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Haida yawned as he arrived at work the next day. He hadn't gotten much sleep. His thoughts of what to do about his current situation had kept him up most of the night. Should he keep pining for his crush Retsuko, or should he give this new girl Ryako a chance.

Suddenly a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Casanova," Fenneko said to Haida as she walked up next to him. "How was your date last night?"

"It was… actually really nice," Haida said honestly, remembering the fun dinner he'd had with Ryako.

Fenneko smiled. "You see? I told you I know what's best for you."

"Oh, ha ha," Haida laughed sarcastically as he and the petite vixen walked into the elevator together.

"So are you gonna see her again?" Fenneko asked as the doors closed and elevator started moving.

"Well…" Haida rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. This was the very question he had been struggling with all night. "I mean… It's not what you think. Ryako is great, but I'm not sure if I 'like' like her. And I still have feelings for Retsuko." He sighed. "I don't know. I feel… torn. I don't know what to do."

Fenneko stared at him like he was insane. "Oh my gawd!" she groaned angrily. Then she pointed a finger right in his face. "You know what, Haida!? I don't care what you do! I'm done helping you! You can either continue to make yourself miserable obsessing over one woman who you can't be with, or you can be with a woman who actually IS willing to date you for some reason, and see where that goes!"

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Without another word, Fenneko walked out and marched away.

Throughout the workday, Haida thought about what Fenneko had said. The more he though about it, the more he realized Fenneko was right. He was being stupid. He'd been making himself miserable for months obsessing over Retsuko and getting nowhere. Why shouldn't he date someone else? He had every right to! As much as he had a crush on Retsuko, that didn't mean he couldn't still develop feelings for someone else, and he already did kinda like Ryako.

He made up his mind, and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

Across town, Ryako was busy at her own job in the kitchen at the Saffron Table Bistro. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her shirtsleeve as she hurried to take the freshly baked pies out of the oven, and then place a new batch in. Finally, the clock on the wall fell on noon, meaning she could finally head out for her break. She and her best friend and coworker, Haruka, a harpy eagle, went out on their break together out the back door of the restaurant.

"DON'T TAKE TOO LONG ON YOUR BREAKS!" their wildebeest manager, Mr. Ushio, was yelling at them on their way out. "THOSE PIES AREN'T GONNA BAKE THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW!"

"I'd like to bake _him_ into a pie," Haruka whispered to Ryako so their manager wouldn't hear. "Wouldn't you?"

Ryako chuckled. "No. I couldn't think such things about anyone," she said, but secretly she was thinking to herself, '_Yeah, I would love nothing more! Although it would probably taste disgusting!_'

The two leaned up against the back wall of the restaurant, each of them pulling out a candy bar from their pockets and unwrapping them.

"So how was your date last night?" Haruka asked, biting into the candy bar with her beak.

"It was nice," Ryako answered honestly before taking a bite of her own candy bar.

"Details, girl!" Haruka demanded, obviously not satisfied with Ryako's answer. "What's he like?"

Ryako swallowed her piece of candy bar she had been chewing and continued. "He's a hyena, he works at an office, he was very nice, funny, cute, a bit shy, he plays guitar…"

"Ooo! A musician!" Haruka interrupted.

Ryako continued. "He was also forced into online dating, just like me."

"Oh! So you two have something in common then," Haruka commented.

"We have a bunch in common, actually!" Ryako told Haruka about some of the conversations she and Haida had, and how their evening had gone. They both liked the same anime, music, and even drinks.

"So do you like him?" Haruka asked.

Ryako nodded. "I do. I hope he liked me." Even though this whole thing had been her sister's idea, Haida had turned out to be someone she'd like to have as a boyfriend.

"Girl, what are you talking about?" Haruka exclaimed. "It's impossible for anyone to not like you! And if he doesn't, then he's an idiot, and you should forget about him!"

Ryako smiled up at her feathered friend. Suddenly, her phone began buzzing, indicating she had gotten a text. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked it. She smiled at what she saw.

"I just got a text from him!" Ryako exclaimed happily. "He wants to know if I want to go to an amusement park with him."

"Alright!" cheered Haruka. "You gonna?"

"Heck yeah!" Ryako said, and then texted Haida back that she would love to.

* * *

The day of Haida and Ryako's second date came, and the two arrived at the amusement park Haida had suggested. This time, Haida decided that since this was his idea, he would pay for both of them.

"What would you like to do first?" Haida asked Ryako.

"Um…" Ryako looked around her at all the rides, attractions, and refreshment stands. Then she smiled as she pointed to a nearby rollercoaster. "How about that?"

Haida looked up at the rollercoaster. It was huge, and it was full of twists and turns and loops and corkscrews! The hyena gulped. He felt a little intimidated to say the least, but he wasn't about to let his date know that.

"Sure," he said, trying not to sound scared. They made their way over to the ride, taking their place at the end of the line.

As they waited in line, Haida felt a little awkward from the silence between them and he tried to come up with something to talk about with Ryako. "You… look really nice today," he managed to say to her.

Ryako felt herself blush. "Thanks," she said. She realized she should return the compliment. "Um… so do you."

"Thanks," Haida said, also blushing. So far this date wasn't going quite as well as the last one. He guessed it was because the last time there had been no pressure due to the strange circumstances of the date. But this time they were on an actual normal date, for the sake of pursuing a possible romantic relationship. Haida had to try to be impressive.

Finally, the line began moving forward, and Haida and Ryako were able to sit down in two of the seats next to each other on the rollercoaster. The safety bars were brought down over their shoulders, and the rollercoaster began moving. Haida once again gulped nervously.

They began going up the first hill. Haida knew a sharp drop was coming soon at the top. He always hated that part the most as it always made him sick to his stomach, and he definitely didn't want to throw up in front of his date.

As they neared the peek, Ryako suddenly grabbed Haida's hand in hers. Haida looked at her, and she gave him an excited smile back. She was also anticipating the sharp drop. Haida blushed and they held hands as the rollercoaster cleared the peak and began to drop the almost vertical drop. Haida and Ryako both let out a scream along with everybody else as they plummeted down towards the ground.

Haida and Ryako were rocked back and forth in their seats as the rollercoaster rocketed through the sharp turns, loops, and corkscrews. Haida started to feel like he might throw up, but then, just as quickly as it had began, the ride slowed as the carts pulled back into the starting platform and came to a stop. The ride was over.

They got out of their seats along with everybody else and exited the ride, Haida a little woozy. Their fur was kinda messed up from the wind blowing through in on the ride.

"That was awesome!" Ryako said excitedly jumping up and down with joy.

"Yeah!" Haida said as enthusiastically as he could, still wide eyed from the ride, but his stomach beginning to feel a bit better as they walked.

"What do you want to do next?" Ryako asked him as they strolled further into the park.

Haida looked around at the different activities around them. "How about some games?" he said as his eyes fell upon a group of carnival games nearby. "I'll win you a prize!"

Ryako nodded. "Okay," she said, and they headed over to the games. The first one they got to was a game where you had to toss a ball into a bucket without the ball bouncing out, and you'd win a prize. It looked simple enough.

Haida smiled to himself. This was the perfect way to impress Ryako. He would definitely win a prize for her.

Haida paid the worker hosting the game, who then handed him three balls. Haida tossed one, and cheered as it fell into the bucket, but then it immediately bounced back out and fell onto the ground.

"What?!" Haida exclaimed, unable to believe what had just happened. He took a second ball and tossed it, this time trying to toss it more gently. But once again, the ball still bounced right back out of the bucket. "Seriously?!" Haida growled. He looked at Ryako and recomposed himself. "These things are obviously rigged!" he said with a smile.

Ryako chuckled. "Yeah. But I wanna try anyway." She grabbed the third and final ball. Being as careful as she could, she tossed the ball into the bucket. The ball bounced back up, but amazingly still stayed within the confines of the bucket instead of falling out.

A bunch of alarms went off, indicating Ryako had won.

Haida stared in shock at Ryako, as did the worker operating the game.

"How did you do that?!" Haida asked Ryako in awe.

The raccoon girl shrugged. "I guess I just got lucky."

"That wasn't luck! That was awesomeness!" Haida said with praise, causing Ryako to blush.

He high-fived her, and Ryako chose one of the prizes from the shelves. She chose a set of earphones. "I've been needing a new set of these anyway," she said to Haida.

Haida chuckled, but on the inside he felt disappointed. He knew he was blowing this date. He had been a wimp on the rollercoaster, and now he had failed to win Ryako a prize.

"So, uh… how about we try another game?" Haida said as confidently as he could. "I was just getting warmed up! I know I'll win you a prize next game!"

Ryako gave Haida a smile. "Haida, you don't have to try so hard to impress me."

Haida was shocked. She knew what he was trying to do! Had he really been that obvious!

Ryako continued speaking. "I already like you, Haida. I wouldn't be on a date with you if I didn't. I want to spend time with the Haida I got to know on our first date. The one who was relaxed and not trying to impress anyone."

Haida stared at her. He could see in her eyes she was being sincere. He was touched. She actually liked the real him.

He smiled back at her and nodded. "Alright. From here on out, I promise I'll relax and stop trying to show off."

"Glad to hear it!" Ryako said happily. "Now lets go have some fun!"

After leaving the games, they rode some more rides like the bumper cars, the teacups, and the tilt-a-whirl. After the haunted house, they both walk off of that ride laughing.

"That was so fake!" Ryako laughed.

"So cheesy!" Haida also laughed.

"Lame!"

Once they finished laughing, Haida turned to Ryako. "Wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure!" she said with a nod.

They made their way over to the food court. They bought some snacks and each of them a blue slushy to drink. They sat down on a bench and began devouring their food.

"This doughnut is great!" Haida said as he chewed on what was actually a rice ball snack called an onigiri. "Jelly filled are my favorite! Nothing beats a jelly filled doughnut. Mmmm. Strawberry flavored!"

Ryako laughed at Haida's comment. "It's okay, but it's a little dry," she said as she chewed her own.

Haida took another bight of his. "I don't know. It tastes fine to me. But then again, you are the food expert."

She smiled at Haida and took a drink from her slushy. "Maybe I'll make you some REAL jelly filled doughnuts sometime. I guaranty you'll see what I'm talking about."

"Free food! I'm always up for that!" said Haida excitedly.

Ryako smirked. "Who said anything about it being free?"

They laughed.

After they finished their meal, they threw away their garbage and headed back towards the rides.

They soon found themselves on the park's Ferris Wheel. As they came to the top of the ride, they got a perfect view of the sunset. The day's last light painting the western most sky with fiery colors while the rest of the sky was darkening, with the first stars beginning to appear.

"Wow! It looks so beautiful up here!" Ryako said in awe as she looked out all around them.

Haida smiled at her. "It's definitely the _second_ most beautiful thing I've seen all day," Haida said, looking at Ryako. He then immediately began to worry that it had been too bold a thing to say. It had just popped into his head and it sounded good so he'd said it, and now he was worried it had been to bold.

Ryako then looked at him at his statement, and then, to his relief, she giggled a little with a blush forming on her face.

Night quickly fell after that, and the park was starting to close. The two left the park and took the train back to the city. When they got there, it was nighttime.

"Would you like me to walk home with you?" Haida asked after they walked off the train.

"I'd like that," Ryako said. "It's not too much of an inconvenience for you, is it?"

"Of course not," Haida said. "Then we'll get to spend a bit more time together."

They began walking in the direction of her apartment, Ryako taking Haida's hand in hers as they walked.

Haida couldn't help but think about how right it felt to hold Ryako's hand in his as they walked together. Suddenly he felt Ryako shiver. He then realized it was a little chilly out, and Ryako didn't have a jacket, but he did. Haida quickly took off his jacket and handed it to Ryako.

"Here. You look a little cold," he said.

Ryako was touched by Haida's generosity. "But Haida, won't you be cold now?"

Haida shook his head. "Naw. The cold never bothered me anyway," he lied.

"Nice Frozen reference," she said with a grin. Ryako took Haida's jacket and put it on herself. Ryako then retook Haida's hand.

It was all too soon that they arrived in front of Ryako's apartment building.

Ryako turned to face Haida, handing him back his jacket. "Thank you for the wonderful day, Haida," she said to him.

"Thank you also for the wonderful day," Haida managed to say. He wondered why he was suddenly a bit nervous again?

"So… I guess I'll see you," Ryako said.

"Yeah," Haida said. "Have a good night."

"Yeah. You too."

They both stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. The tension between them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. It didn't feel right to just end the date like this for some reason. Something felt… incomplete.

Suddenly Ryako leaned up and gently pressed her lips against Haida's, giving the surprised hyena a kiss on the lips. Haida's initial surprise faded quickly and he began kissing her back. They both opened their mouths, deepening the kiss. The world around them completely disappeared from their conscious minds, and the only things that existed to them at that moment were the two of them. Nothing could have felt more right.

After several seconds they broke the kiss, leaving both of them breathless. "Goodnight," Ryako said before she turned to the door of her apartment building, opened it and, practically skipping inside, disappearing out of sight as she closed the door behind her.

Inside, Ryako leaned her back against the closed door, her heart racing. "I actually kissed a boy on the lips!" she said to herself.

Outside, Haida had a goofy grin on his face as he stood there in a daze. "I… I think I have a girlfriend."

As Haida began walking home, for the first time, he truly felt like he could finally move on from Retsuko. In his mind he cut the anchor that was Retsuko with an axe, and allowed the ship to finally sail. He felt new love for someone else now, and her name was Ryako.

To be continued.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for reading. I would appreciate you leaving a comment on what you thought. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can.


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